System and apparatus for determining the listening habits of wave signal receiver users



2,660,508 THE LISTENING 5 Sheets-Sheet l N0V 24, 1953 H. A, RAHMELSYSTEM AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING HAEITS 0E wA'vE SIGNAL RECEIVERusEE med July 2:5, 194'? H. A. RAHMEL Nov. 24, 1953 SYSTEM AND APPARATUSFOR DETERMINING THE LISTENI HABITS OF WAVE SIGNAL RECEIVER USERS 5Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 23. 1947 INVENTOR. ejzg/ Q 2RM/226i BY f @wwwC//M @y Nov. 24, 1953 H. A. RAI-IMEI. 2,660,508

SYSTEM AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING THE LISTENING HABITS oF wAvESIGNAL. RECEIVER USERS Filed July 23. 1947 5 sheets-sheet :s

@QM @M1/@ Nov. 24, 1953 H.. A. RAHMEL 2,660,508

SYSTEM AND APPARATUS FOR DETERNINING THE LISTENING HAEITS 0R wAvE SIGNALRECEIVER USERS 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 25. 1947 INVENTOR. /76/253/(l, a//ze Nov. 24, 1953 H. A. RAHMEL 2,660,508 SYSTEM AND APPARATUS FORDETERMTNTNG THE LISTENING HABITS oF wAvE SIGNAL RECEIVER USERS FiledJuly 23. 1947 Ssneets-sneef 5 111// lll Patented Nov. 24, 1953 Nl TED[STATES PATIEN T "OFFICE 2,660,505; 'l 'SYSTEM 'ANDA APPARATUS FORDETERMIN- IIC'AIIIII LISTENING HABTS YF WAVE "SIGNAL RECEIVER USERS.Henry A. Itahmel, Evanstonflll.,assignontoAiC. .Nielsen Company,Chicago, '.Ill., a corporation o'f Illinois .-ApplicationjulyLZS,1947,-SerialNo. 762;962

34-olaims. 1

.The :present s invention relates .to .systems and .apparatus for.determining the :listening Yhabits the extent .of .use .of :thereceiver and torecord as a .function ..of :time `.the :wavefsignaltransmitters tol which' thexreceiver iis atunedior program reception.The-usual device of -this character embodies facilities .for driving A`a.-.recordreceivingv or recording element such aa-s :a tape, .forexample; at a constant speed andtranslating 'means for Avariablyapositioning a .recording .'stylus vrelative .to 'the yrecord nreceivinglelementdn accordance with changesinithe :tuning ofthereceiver. Thepositions of the-.record .indications-along-.the

:record receiving element-provide `the necessary recorded 'information'from which it is .possible to rdetericninenthe particulartstationsto-.which the receiver 'was tuned=anda1so the'lengthof time to which thevarious stations Were tuned..in-bY the lreceiver. Thus, -with la given:starting time Yof :the .record receiving element accurately marked'.thereon, -each followinglpoint .along .the record receiving 4element`is irepresentative of .a later chronological f instant .so :long as the.record receiving-elementis driveneat a constant speed.

'Heretofore representatives of the analysis .organization in-thecnatureiof -iieldlmenehaverbeen employed to fvisitper-iodicallytthemomes .of .collaborators .to Y gather f. up lthe.record receiving 4.elements :or tapes upon iwhieh .recordingsehave'been made 'and to replace these -recordireceiving elements :or .tapes=with anew .record .receiving .elements for obtaining .information .forthe .subsequent period. 'In removing .the .tapeiuponfwhieh a recordhasbeenproduced; and'replacingl it with a :new tape, @the Aprocedure:followed by lthedield Iman Twas in lsome `respects \quitesimilar atothat `oi loading the Vroll of .film in a movie..camera. 1

Howevery due to the: importance; of .thettime .element, it was necessaryforfeacheldlman. to .carry van accurate: timepiece:y and/to indicate at.the-.end

of the tape aremoved .from the recording pparatus thevexact .timeand-dateathat ait waere-yl moved.rompperationand .to indicate. on the.new

4tape .todae `placed inthe krecorder the .exacttime and date that it4was .putinto operation. Thus on -.each record receiving elementor .tape:there yWere provided .accurate time indications at .the .beginningandend thereof .which were manualll7 placed thereon. `Ethere was nopowerfailureor other abnormal condition causing .the tape to move atother-.than a'constant speed throughout the whole :calendarlperod thatthe tape .was in operation, the.v length. of .the v.taperernoved shouldcorrespond to .the .productof .the speedofmovement of the ,tape and .theinterval `of .time ibetween .the two .manually .applied ,time Anotationsat the beginningy andend. thereof.

It will be apparent that .thecostof .obtaining asample oftheilisteninghabitsofseveral hundred radio .users lnecessaryto make a statistical.analysis concerning suchhabits from -Which the factors affecting the.sales .effectiveness of particular radio programs .may vhe accuratelyarrived at is influenced to 4.a .considerable extent Yby the expenseofhavingnumerous eld men Y making visits lto .the.homes. o'fcollaboratorsat periodic .intervals of thirty .days or the like. It

would be .desirable to be ,able .to .dispense .with suchfeld menfbyprovidingarecording device in nwhich the record lreceiving element ortape is .mounted .in asuitable magazine which canreadily`berep1aced or`removedloy anyone ina minimum `of .time Without. any Vskill ortraining.The magazine .containingthetape which has thereon .a .record of thelistening ihabitsof 'the users vof one or more receivers `for apredetermined calendar. period .wouldbe ymailedirito theheadquarters ofethe f. analysis .organization which at peri-- r odic intervals would,also .supply thecollaborator withreplacement. magazinesiforthosereadyltol be decoded. Suche .mailablarecording magazine must befool-proof so that the collaborator can- ..not.make..a.mistake inapplying .it `to the rappa- .ratus .or removing Tit therefrom.Furthermore, .to avoidcomplication. in.replacing magazinesan'd to avoidconditioning vthe sample .it .is .neces- .sary .toavoid havingthecollaborator place ...any

time information on vthe `tape .as vwas A heretofore required `of the.eldmen Sinceitis essential that atimelbase ,.beprovidedonithe record`re- .speed .drivingemeans therefore 'failed'to operate il are'designated by the same. reference numerals with the parts of thereceiver Il)` havingt script (a) appended to the, referen, numerals; andthe parts of receiver` I I having the subscript (b)4 appended to thereferencev numerals. inf, terposed between the antenna-ground circuitsIZ and the signal reproducers I3 are the usual stages comprising, forexample, a tunable, radio frequency amplier, a mixer or modulator, anintermediate frequency amplifier, a detector, and an audio frequencyamplifier. The receivers Ill and II are entirely conventional, and themode of operation thereof is apparent to those Skilledy in the art.

It will be understood that superheterodyne re-l ceivers inclu-de a localoscillator section, a portion of which is designated by the referencenumeral I4 in connection with the receivers. l0 and H. With suchreceivers the reception of any program carrier from a given Wave signaltransmitter will be represented by a deiinite out7 put frequency of thelocal oscillator of each receiver, a section of which is represented atI4 in the drawings. This output frequency of the oscillator may be usedto identify the particular transmitting station to which the receiversill and Ii are tuned for program reception at any particular time.

Although only twor receivers II and II, which preferably disposed in asingle multideceiver home, have been illustrated, it should beunderstood that in actual practice several hundred broadcast receiverslocated in homes within the radiation areas of different sets oi wavesignal transmitters broadcasting the particular programs of interest areemployed to provide the record information concerning the listeninghabits of the receiver users necessary to a statistical analysis fromwhich the various factors affecting the sales effectiveness ofparticular programs be accurately arrived at. In using system, it iscontemplated that selection of t -e system collaborator homesthat is,the homes in which wave signal receiver use is to be loggd-shall he on abasis such that all ory the varia.-e factors, such, for example, asnumber oi potential listeners, economic aiiiuence, religion, etc., whichnormally affect any process of sarnpling public opinion, are accountedfor on a weighted basis. In the interests of simplifying the disclosurexhowever', only two wave signal rcceivers it and il from a multi-receiverhome and the associated recording facilities therefore shown in Fig. lof the drawings.

For the purpose of producing' a decodable record accurateij,T positivelyidentifying all programs received at the respective collaboratorreceivers in the analysis during any given calendar period eachcollaborator receiver is prowith a network Hl coupled between the localoscillators, a portion of which is shown at Id, in connection withreceivers i0 and Il., and a signal channel extending to a remoterecording point. The networks I5 impress a signal on the signal channelhaving a frequency respresentative of the output freouency of the localoscillator section ci the particular receiver such as Ill or I I. ltwill be understood that the equipment required at the wave signalreceivers, such as Ill and Il, maintained at a minimum and the larger orbulkicr equipment associated `with the recording apparatus must bedisposed at a remote point such as a basement or closet in the home. Asis illustrated, the coupling networks I5 of the receivers iii and' ilare connected to the. power supply conductors I6 of the home, forexample; which servey as a link for connecting the receivers I0 and IIwith a remote recording point where there is providedV the translatingand recording equipment generally designated at Il. Instead of a direct,connection such as the power line I for relating the coupling networksi5 with the translating and recording equipment il it will be understoodthat a space link may be employed. The specific construction of thecoupling networks i5' and their connection to the recording andtranslating equipment Il forms no part of the present invention butA isfully disclosed and claimed in theA above-mentioned (impendingapplication.

At the translating and recording point the variable characteristic ofeach received signal voltage is utilized to control suitable recordproducing means such as one or more styli, for eX- ample, for producinga record or records identifying the transmitting stations to which thereceivers IG and II are tuned. This translating and recording equipmentIl may be of the form disclosed in Woodru Patent 2,365,834, grantedDecember 22, 1942, but preferably is of the form disclosed and claimedin the prior co-pending application referred to above. In brief, thetranslating and recording equipment I'! is divided into severalprincipal components, a hunter unit I3, a duplexing control unit I9 anda recorder unit 2B. The hunter unit I8 comprises a band pass selectorand amplier 2i broadly tuned to receive and transmit in ampliiied formany signal. received from the networks i5, a mixer oroscillator-modulator 22, an intermediate frequency amplier 23, and adetector and control tube 2d connected in tandem in the order named. Theinput terminals of the band pass selector and amplifier 2| are'lustrated as being coupled tol the power supply conductors IS throughthe coupling capacitors 26 although they might equally well be connectedto an antenna-ground circuit in thev event that a spa-ce link isemployed hetween the translating and recording equipment I'I' 'and thereceivers li) and H. The loca-l oscillator section of theoscillator-modulator 22 is controlled by means of a tuning condenser 22aover a band at least as wide as that capable of being superimposed onthe conductors or link i6 by the coupling networks l5 in response to thetuning; of the local oscillator sections of the ref ceivers, Io and II.Tuning oi the oscillator section of the oscillator-modulator 22 is underthe control of a sweep motor 28 adapted for energization from the supplyconductors I5 through a plurality of serially arranged contacts 29a, and39a of the relays 29, 30 and ill respectively, illustrated as a part ofthe duplexing control unit I9. Preferably, the sweep motor 28 isconnected to the shaft of the condenser 22a. This connectien isschematically shown in Fig. l of the drawings by the, dashed line 3i?.The structural arrangement oi the sweep motor 2a and the condenser 22dis shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings. The name hunter unit is applied tothe unit I3 because of the hunting action of the tuning condenser 22aControlled, bv the Sweep motor 2tt Any suitable means. for producingindependent records, representative of the transmitting Sta# tions to'which the receivers l@ and Il are tuned may be employed. One such meansillustrated in the drawings comprises the duplexing control unit I9which includes the commutating device 25 having a wiper 25e drivencontinuously by a suitable synchronous motor and gear train assemaecdncarco ers in the multi-receiver home. It will be understood that if thehome of the collaborator only `4.oployecl a single receiver, then thecomn inutatlng device nd some of he associated apparatus to be descriiediereinaiter could be dispensed lith, since the purpose of thecommutating de' cif: to independent records to be ina-.ic for t. va iousreceivers in a multi* receiver home. wiper e of the commutat ing devicei iously rotated by the motor nism 3ft is conn uected il-uough suicoupling condenser to the output ci the detector Each coinn tir':device` segment such as 25d and 25h te l to a d cnt translating channel.As illustrated, the con? Litat' is connected to traA ng channel S6,while the segment connected to a translating channel 3l. Thus the outputoi the detector "d successively connected with translat' channels Il?,and 3'? l'cr intervals oi equal duralength of which iA .nined by thespeed of rotation of the 2te. Preferably the wiper rotates at a speedsuch that the time reduire-d to one segment, such 1 25h. corresponds tothe time it taires the srveeL motor to maire one revolution. would hetrue though corainutatiig ,levies 2?? had. more than two segrnc ts.

As fully disclosed and claimed in the abovementioncd (xo-pendingapplication, the coupling networks 15a and IED are capable ofimpressing' modulated signals cn the linlr |53, cach having a diierentmodulation coipcnent of diierent relatively low iixed Eredi' iciespreferably bearing no harmonic relationship to each other. The modulatedsignals are of course also representa ti fe of the outputs the localoscillators and con ucntly ci broadcast' stations to which the receiversld and i i are tuned. The trans- .la-ting channel 3E is arranged so toce cap-able of passing only the modulated signal produced at thocoupling networlf. itc, u-'hile the translating channel 3l' is arrangedso as to be capable of passing only the modulated signal produced at thecoupling network lsb. This can readily be eccomplii'ied by employingsharply tuned resonant circui in each of the translating channels 36 and3l. Preferably these translating channels 36 and 3l are so designed thatwhen they receive a. signal associated relays and 3i respectively arecle-energized. Normally these relays 3@ and 3| are energized to maintainthe contacts 30a and Bla respectively closed. The relay 3a also includesthe contacts Elib which are open when the contacts 3cm are closed.Similarly the relai7 3| inclu-.les the contacts 1Mb which are also openwhen the contacts 3m are closed. In view of the series connection of`the contacts Sila and 3| a, in the circuit of the sweep motor 22|, thepassing of a signal by either one of the translating channels 36 and 31will cause de-energisation of the sweep motor 28 by de-energizing one ofthe relays E10 or 3| and opening one of the sets of contacts 39a or 3|arespectively.

In order to prevent the sweep motor 28 from g device segment a operatingduring those intervals when neither of the receivers, such as Ill or Il,being monitored is in operation, the duplexing control unit I9 alsoincludes a rectier and control tube unit 39, the input of which iscoupled directly to the output terminals of the band selector andamplifier unit 2|. The output of the unit 39 is connected to the relay29 in such a manner that the passing of a signal by the unit 2|indicating use of at least one of the receivers l0 or ll causes closingof the contacts 25a. Concurrent non-use of the several receivers, suchas |10 and H, causes the contacts 29a of the relay 29 to be opened,thereby opening the power circuit to the sweep motor 25.3. As soon asany one or both oi'; the receivers li! or Il is turned on, a signal isimpressed on the link |6, and the relay 29 is caused to close itscontacts 28al to energize the sweep motor 2B.

The recording equipment generally designated at 2li and shown in greaterdetail in Figs. 2, 4, 5, '7 and 8 of the drawings includes a movablerecord receiving element best shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 5 ci the drawings.It should be understood that any suitable recording element such as amagnetic element may be employed. For the purpose of illustrating theinvention the record receiving element is shown as a recording tape All.This recording tape 40 is provided with edge perforations 4| so that itmay be driven at con-- stant speed by a driving sprocket 42 havingspaced peripheral teeth engageable with the edge perfon rations 4| inthe tape 4D. The tape movable between a supply spool 43 and a tallfe-upspool 44. In accordance with the present invention the portion of therecording equipment described thus far is mounted in a small., mailablemagazine generally designated at 45, including a heus ing 4G. Themembers 42, 43, fill are suitably mounted therein as shown in Figs. 5and t3 of the drawings so that the tape 4l! is movable along the insideof one wall of the housing dit, which wall is provided with suitablenon-concentric arena c openings 4T 43 and a smaller opening A platen 5Uis positioned so that the tape 4t moves between the Wall and saidplaten, .vhercby support for the tape 40 is provided when engaged by aplurality record producing means such as suitably styli generallydesignated as 5|, 52, and and described in greater detail hereinafter.Styli, 5i, and 53, are adapted to extend through the openings M, t8, andfit respectively in the housing dii of the niailable magazine .'15 atleast when engaging the tape Q0 in a trace producing manner.

To drive the sprocket 42 at constant speed and therefore to assureconstant speed movement of the tape 40, there is provided a constantspeed driving mechanism 54 which is schematically illustrated in Figs. 1and 2 or? the drawings and which comprises a synchronous motor and trainarrangement. As illustrated, this synchro nous motor is preferablyconnected to a source of alternating power such as the power line itthrough suitable conductors 55. Heretoiore such constant speed drivingmechanism also includ d a spring actuated stand-by clock device normallymaintained in a wound condition by the synchronous motor of the drivingmechanism. Such. a stand-by clock was heretofore adapted to be connectedin driving relationship with the drive for the record receiving elementthrough the electromagnetic actuation oi' a clutch device in response t0de-energization oi the synchronous driving motor during a period ofpower failure. Although such a. stand-by clock may be provided ifdesired the like.

it is not required in View oi the means to be des scribed hereinafterfor automatically applying time markings on the record receivingelement. Hence another advantage of the present invention is theelimination of the requirement for a stand'- by clock.

It will be understood that the driving mechanism 54 must be exteriorlypositioned 'relative to the housing 45 of the record tape magazine 45which magazine is mailable as mentioned above. Consequently, a suitablereleasable driving con nection schematically indicated "as B in Fig. lof the drawings is provided to relate the sprocket 42 to the drivingmechanism 54. Preferably the sprocket 42 is provided with a suitabledriving gear 51 which meshes 'with a cooperating gea-r 58 fastened to ashaft 55 extending ro'm 'the driving mechanism 54. It will be understoodthat the housing 46 must be provided with a cuteaway portion generallydesignated at ed in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings which permits exposureci a portion of the gear 5l so that it may be moved into drivingengagement with the gear 58. The gears 5l and 52 may be 'Worm gears` ifdesired or ordinary gears or" the type illustrated in Fig. 5 of thedrawings. The worm gear arrangement provides an advantage due to thegear reduction provided thereby.

It will also be understood that suitable means must be provided tomaintain the element or tane 40 taut between the supply and take upspools 4 3 and 44. This may be accomplished by driving the take up spool411 from a gear 51 by means of a suitable gear 6i through a clutcharrangement,

not shown, whereby slippage of the clutch occurs when the tape is taut,the take up `spool 4-4 being driven slightly faster than the movement ofthe tape 4Q. rEhe supply spool 4-3 may merely be provided with afriction drag arrangement which will adequately maintain the tape iin ataut condition. The arrangement described for maintaining the tape tautis quite satisfactory but is relatively complicated and a much simplerarrangement is disclosed in Fig. 9 of the drawings where thecorresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals. InFig. 9 the parts are arranged so that the tape 40 engages the circumfference of the driving sprocket 42 subtended by an angle ofsubstantially 270. In order to provide a friction drag for the supplyspool 43, there is provided an elastic belt brake 92 which may be aspring belt or some other form of elastic belt fastened to the housinge5 in a manner to apply a braking force to the supply spool 43.Similarly the take up spool 44 is driven from 'the sprocket 42 by meansof an elastic belt S3. The pulleys provided on the take up spool 44 andthe sprocket 42 are of such relative sizes as to slightly overdrive thetake up spool 44 thereby 'tending to keep the tape taut. t will beapparent that 'with this arrangement a very simple device is providedwithout the requirement of clutches 'and It will also be understood thatif the tape 40 is capable of having a, substantial tension Aappliedthereto the elastic belts 92 'and 93 could vbe replaced by a singleelastic belt interconnecting Vsuitable pulleys associated with thesupply 'and' take up spools 43 and 44 respectively.

In order to produce desirable indications on 'the record tape it isapparent that the styli `provide indications on the tape 4i] of theparticular broadcasting stations to whichr the' re'- c'eivers it and Hare respectively tuned. Ac-

cordirigly the Styli 5| and 52 are pivotally supported as indicated at51o and b2b respectively in Figi. 8 of the drawings so that theinscribing portions Sid and 52a thereof are adapted to move in anarcuate path somewhat donned by the arcuate openings 4l and 48. Pivotalmovement of the styli 5i and 52 so as to cause the inscribing points 51aand 52a to move in the arcuate path referred to is provided by virtue ofa suitable mechanical linkage designated as 51o for the sty-lus 5I and52o lfor the stylus 52'. Each linkage mechanism includes an adjustablemember such as 51d yfor the stylus 5i and 52d for the stylus 52, wherebythe throw 'of the ns'cribing points 5ta and 52a may be adllsted so as tobe `conined Within the arcuate openings Zl'i and 41'8 respectively. Theends of the linkage mechanism 51e `and 52ov are connected to a shaft 62which in turn is connected to a crank 63 driven by the sweep motor 28.In the structural arrangement shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings, the-sweep motor 28 is prererabl'y drivingly connected with the condenser22a and the crank 63 is indicated as being provided at the end of thecondenser tuning shaft. It is apparent that with this arrangement theStyli 5| and e2 are adapted to move back and 'forth transversely of therecord tape d when the sweep motor 28 is energized to drive the 'tuningcondenser 22a over its tuning range. Preferably the Styli 5I and 52 havethe inscrib- 'ing portions Lila 'and 52a normally ont of contact withthe tape 48. They may, 'for example, b'e provided with pivotal meanspermitting movement toward and away from the record tape 48 Withsuitable spring means such as 64 (Fig. l) for biasing the inscribingportions thereoi` away from the tape. To render the Styl-i 5l and 52effective to make a record on the movable recording element -or recordtape 4c, an electromagne't is provided for the stylus 5| and anelectromagnet '66 is provided for rthe stylus 52. As is schematicallyillustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings, these electroinagnets S5 and 6Bare each adapted to be energized from a separate suitable controlcircuit in series with the contacts Seo and @it re'- spectively of therelays and 3l. Whenever the contacts 3Go are closed, the electro-magnet65 is energized and the stylus 5l is rendered ei- Vfestive to engage therecording tape ce. Similarly, whenever the contacts l3io are closed, theelectromagnet 66 is energized to render 'the stylus 52 eiective toengage the tape 40.

The particular construction of the record producing means such as 5I and'52v`forr`ns no part Of the present invention and or course will dependto a "considerable extent upon the type of record receiving element etthat is employed.

.f desired, the Styli may be 'of the .form disclosed and claimed incoepending application Serial N o. i737,529*Krahiilec-eiiled March 27,1947, and assigned to the saine assignee as the present application. By'virtue or" the non-'concentric arcate-openings 4i' and 4e it ispossibi-e3 when the' Styli 5I and 52 are continuously in con- 'tact withthe recording eli'ent, readily to 'd'- tfllile which trace is Inde bywhich Stylus, without the identifying means, mei-ely by 'foi-- lowingthe "trace to the arcuate pos'itior'i when the respective stylus swingsacross the tape. It Will be understood vthat if the inscribing portionsof the styli employ ink or a suitable writing fluid that verysatisfactory results may be obtained since different colors of ink maybe plyd fOI" th d'iet vStyli 5| and 52. In

such a case identiiication of the traces may be had even though thestyli are in record-producing engagement with the record receivingelement only after the sweep motor 28 has been deenergized. In the eventthat a wax tape is used, for example, a metallic inscribing point may beemployed on each of the styli which inscribing point will remove waxfrom the tape thus inscribing a record thereon.

In view or the fact that the styli El and 52 are adapted at times toswing across the record tape between the edge perforations 4| therein,it is apparent that the stylus 53 in order not to interfere with therecord produced on the tape 4D by the styli 5| and 52 should produce arecord on the tape outside the range oi' the styli l and 52. Thefunction oi the stylus 53 which will be brought out'in greater detailhereinafter' can be accomplished by positioning the stylus or theinscribing portion 53o: thereof so as to produce a record between oneedge of the tape and the adjacent row or perforations 4i. This isclearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. Although the stylus 53 may beidentical with the Styli 5I and 52, it is illustrated as being somewhatmodified in that the inscribing point iii-la thereof for a purpose whichwill become apparent hereinafter is continually 1ciased into engagementwith the tape 50 as by means of a spring support 53D thereby providing acontinuous trace on the tape :iii as indicated by the line (58 in Figs.2 and 3 of the drawings. The spring support 53h is preferably mounted onan armature 53e pivotally mounted at 53d and controlled by anelectromagnet 53e. Upon energization of the electromagnet 53e theinscribing portion 53a of the stylus 53 is adapted to move laterally asmall amount as, for example, one-sixteenth of an inch or so, wherebythe record trace produced, indicated at E8, in Figs. 2 and 3 oi' thedrawings is displaced slightly as indicated at 68a. The function andoperation of the stylus 53 which forms an important part of the presentinvention will be described in detail hereinafter. The stylus 53 hasbeen described at this point merely to complete the description of therecorder 25 of which it forms a part. It should be understood that thestyli 5| and 52 may also be continuously biased into engagement with thetape M3 whereby the nonconcentric movement thereof will enable readyidentification of the traces made thereby as mentioned above.

Brieiiy to consider the mode ol' operation of the translating andrecording equipment il described thus far, it is pointed out that therecorder insofar as tape movement is concerned is maintained incontinuous operation by virtue of the driving mechanism 54 which causesconstant speed movement of the tape Mi. The translating channels in theduplexing control unit I9 are maintained in continuous operation withthe motor t4 continually driving the com mutator device 25. When nosignal is received by the hunter unit IB, the sweep motor is iscle-energized by virtue of the iact that the contacts 28a of the relayZl are open. As soon as either one or both of the receivers It and Ilare turned on, one or both of the coupling networks l5a and I5b appliesa modulated station identification signal as was mentioned above to thelink I6 which signal causes release of the relay 29 to close itscontacts 25d and cause operation of the sweep motor 28. The sweep motor28 causes the condenser 22a to be driven continuously to tune theoscillator section of the oscillator modulator 22 back and forth betweenthe liinits of the tuning range and simultaneously the styli 5l and 52are driven baci; and iorth transversely of the recording tape 40.However, as long as the relays Se and 3| do not close their contactsiilb and 3io, respectively, the styli 5i and 52 are not renderedeffective to produce any record or trace on the tape 4B. Following theturning on of one or more of the receivers, such as I0 or H, and tuninga receiver such as I or li to a particular transmitting station, theoscillator section of the particular receiver tuned in will produce asignal the frequency of which is representative or' the station tunedAssuming, for example, that the receiver lil is tuned to a particulartransmitting station and considering for the moment that the receiver Ilis not turned on, a signal will be impressed upon the link i6 by thecoupling network 15a which is capable oi' passing through theintermediate frequency amplifier 23 of the hunter unit i3 so as to beimpressed on the commutating device 25. .lllthough the translatingchannels 3E and 3i are continuously conditioned for operation, only thetranslating channel 35 is capable of passing the modulation componentsof a signal impressed on the linlr iii by the coupling network I5a.Consequently, as soon as the wiper 25o comes into engagement with thesegment 25a connected to the channel t6, this signal component is passedby the channel 35 to cause the relay 30 to open its contacts Elsathereby cle-energizing the sweep motor 29a to stop the movement of thestyli 5i and 52. Simultaneously, the relay 3o closes its contacts 30h soas to render the stylus 5I eiiective to malte a trace on the record tape'15, the position of the trace transversely ci the tape beingrepresentative of the particular station to which the receiver l) istuned. As soon as the wiper 25e has rotated sufficiently to engage thecommutator segment 25h the path through the translating channel 35 isinterrupted and the path through the translating channel 31 iscompleted, However, the translating channel 3l cannot pass themodulation components of signal impressed on the link IG by the couplingnetwork Consequently, interruption of the translating channel 36 by thecommutating device 25 causes the relay 30 to reclose its contacts Silaand re-open its contacts Stb whereupon the sweep motor 28 isre-energized and the stylus 5i is moved away from the tape 40 by meansof the spring 64. Continued rotation of the wiper 25e of the commutatingdevice 25 will cause the segment 25a to be again engaged by the wiper255e, thereby recompleting the channel 35 whereupon the process will berepeated, and the stylus 5l will make another trace on the record tapeas indicated in Fig. 3 of the drawings. lt will be apparent, therefore,that as long the receiver l0 remains tuned to the particular stationthat the stylus 5I will produce a dotted line on the tape ed indicatedat 69, the transverse position of this line on the tape fill beingrepresentative of the particular station tuned in by receiver I0. Thebreaks in this line i355 correspond to the time when the wiper is inengagement with the segment 25d of the commutating device 25. If thereceiver iii is tuned to a different station, a similar' dotted linewill be produced. on the tape 4l! but positioned differentlytransversely of the tape Mi (see Fig. 3).

vof the drawings, the dots being produced when-r ever the wiper 25e isin engagement with the commutator segment 25o and `the open spaces beingproduced when the translating channel 31 is inactive by virtue of thewiper 25e being in engagement with the ccromutator segment 25o. Again,the position of the .line l1? transversely of the tape 4S will indicatethe particular radio station to which the rreceiver Il is tuned.Suppose, for exempte, hat both the receivers i and I; are tuned in tothe same Station. Then as shown in Fig. 3. of the drawings, superimposeddotted lines corresponding to the traces t9 and lo are produced, theStyli 5i and 52 alternately engaging the tape 4.o to produce the dottedlines which are colinearly posiv tioned on the tape, If the receiversvl! and Il are both tuned to different transmitting stations, then thelines Se and 'I0 will be produced by the styli E! and '52 but the lineproduced by the stylus l will be displaced transversely of the recordtape relative to the line which is produced by the stylus 52. .1neffect, therefore,r the conirnutating device functions as a time sharingdevice, whereby the time `for making a rec ord on the record tape #il isshared equally by the styli El and 52.

As will be apparent from the above explanation, accurate measurement ofthe factor time is dependent upon continuous and precisely constantspeed of movement of the record receiving element or tape 5G. However,and as explained above, it has been found vin practice that changes inthe speed of movement of the record receiving element di) or stoppagethereof occur either by virtue of power outages or for other reasons..Obviously, the segment of tape length used du1jing an extended recordinginterval in which a tape speed change of the character described mayoccur or the point along the tape length at which tape stoppage hasoccurred is not indicated by the record produced by the stationrecording styli 5I and 52. In other words, in checking the tape 43 atthe central cnice (Dlr to decoding the record information inscribedthereon) for the purpose of determining the aocuracy of timing, thestarting time and the stopping time of the tape must be ,known alongwith the standardized speed of tape movement. Heretofore, the startingand stopping time of the tape was manually applied thereto in the mannerexplained above. In accordance with the present invention, it isdesirable that time information be automatically applied to the tape sothat the starting and Stopping times` thereof may readily be determinedWithout any requirement for manually applying this information to thetape. Furthermore, for the known recording interval the amount of tapewhich should have been used may easily be calculated. If upon checkingthe length of the tape segment actually used during the recordinginterval it terval is indicated. On the other hand, if the' actuallength of the tape is longer than the calculated length for therecording interval in question, an excessive speed of tape movement isindicated for at least a portion of the recording interval. If no meansfor checking the time intervals is available, the entire tape must bediscarded for the reason that A1'he record information thereon cannot beaccurately correlated with time. rThis is quite serious when it isremembered that the tape may include the record information for athirty-day calendar period. In accordance with the present inventionmeans are lalso provided for obviating the above-mentioned difficulty byapplying specic time information to the recording tape at least onceduring every twenty-four hour period, which information may be differentfor Vdifferent days in the week whereby time calculations for everypoint along the tape can readily be made, at most a twenty-four hourperiod of the tape would have to be discarded (unless an extended poweroutage occurs, resulting from failure of power lines, etc.)

To accomplish this end, the translating and recording apparatus of thepresent invention includes a fixed tuned wave signal receiver gen erallydesignated at i3. rhis wave signal receiver i3 may be of anyconventional type, preferably or the euperheterodyne type, and is arranged to be tuned to a specific broadcasting or transmitting stationwithin the area where the receivers lo and li are located. Preferably,the fixed tuned receiver comprises an antennaground circuit ld, ai'lired tuned radio frequency amplifier "i5, an oscillator-modulator'it, an intermediate .frequency amplifier il, and a detector 'l connectedin tandem in the order named. Whenever the particular transmittingstation to which the nz-red tuned receiver lli is tuned is broadcastingor in other words is on the air, a signal is received by the receiver13. The carrief of the signal is rectiiied by the detector lo to appearacross the resistor 'i3 as a direct cuiim rent voltage. This voltage isapplied as a negative bias to the grid of a suitable control tube Sii.The plate circuit of the tube extends from a source of +B potential inthe receiver .3 through the winding of a relay d! to ground.Consequently when a signal is received by the xed tuned receiver ls,which occurs whenever the transmitting station to which it is tuned ison the air, the relay s! is deenergiaed and its contacts Sla are open.When, however, the transmitting station to which tuned radio receiver'i3 goes off the air, no signal is received and the negative bias on thegrid of the amplifier is removed so that plate current is permitted toflow, whereupon the relay is enersized to close its contacts 3io.Closure of the contacts Sla associated with the relay el energizes theelectromagnet 53e associated with the stylus 53, which stylus as wasmentioned above preferably is in continual engagement with the movablerecord tape ils to produce the trace 58 between one edge ofthe tape andthe adjacent row of edge perforations as clearly shown in Figs, 2 and 3of the drawings. Et will be apparent that when no signal carrier isreceived by the fixed tuned receiver '53, the stylus 53 is deflected toproduce the deflected indication 53a along the tape s0. When a signalcarrier is received, the stylus 53 moves to its normal trace positionunder the influence of suitable biasing means. It should be understoodthat if desired, the stylus 53 may be operated in a manner similar tothe way styli 5i and are operated, so as to make no trace when a signalis received from the lined tuned receiver "13, for example, and to maizea trace engaging the tape only when the transmitting station to whichthe fixed tuned receiver '13 is tuned goes oii the air. For reasonswhich will become apparent as the following description proceeds,however, the inst-described arra iger-nent is preie'able.

It wlil be understood by those skilled in the art that niosttransmitting stations have a der"- inite time during each twenty-:tourhour period when the station is silent or, in other words, is

ce ci many broadcasting tat-,p11 ing at 1:0-3 a. rn.

and begin addition,

at 51Go a, r e for such rei-ent sign-ofi Y oi the week, as ier otherdays during ont o ofi at 12:99 'nd not begin broadcastii '0G a. in.Sunday mornexample, the weer, in. Suini i o oi the drawings the timetrace 'iii greatly coinw direction. It thus apparent that time arizingsprovided on the recording tape :i2 'idicating the ign-ofi anzi sign-ontimes oi" the particular station to which the iized tuned receivertuned, accurate time check is had 'th most i sign-on times i e "veryfries. is an i gorinveution to provide c D ci' at least one the -ontimes ci the station to .cd tuned receiver 'lo is tuned eaiendar periodfor which retape whereby if and the caiculated s not agree w'tii theactual such calendar' then it `ossible check ith such time ing. with'the seaisA presse-Li in a long tical since it f and stop time rei uricepoints on the recording e used without requir- .i important feature ofthe pre "me base is automatically prov Y nec y, was heretoore required,to apifiy accurate starting ig indications on the recor urtiierniorethis tin-ie is proat the record r, or the t not already c g done it isknown 'tact that variation from (lay to day in f 1' sign oft' times ofwave sinu or a particular A"ally considered to be the sa e every oi''the week with the exception of nur' perhaps, actually the sta-- tioncarrier itting station. is turned on at variable t the actualbroadcasting begins which variations might be as much as ten minutes ormore from day to day. Simii6 larly a variation oi' sign oit time oi'several ininutes also occurs even though when s the sign off time of agenerally thought or as being exactly the same every day. Consequentlythe and sign provide a unique constantly chang.

.-J" tern whereby readily possible, of the time iniorni "'ion appeareceiving element to definitely relate .i cieinent into its proper timeposition by virtue oi' such unique time pattern.

The rules oi the Federal Communications Cornmission require accuratelogging of the station sign on and sign oft times so that this loginformation is always available tor determining this unique time patternand conseguenti-y orientating the record on the recording element intoits proper position with respect to time including year, month, day,hour and minute, or in other words date, hour and fractional hours forany calendar period. If desired the analysis organisation may provideaccurate ineens for monitoring a predetermined number oi stationsthroughout the country which are employed to i'urnish the time recordssuch as the trace in Ifig. 3 of the drawings so as independently toobtain the unique time pattern of the sign oiT; and sign on times ofsuch stations from which pattern it is readily possible to orientatewith respe t to time the recording elements liti. Thus it is observedthat with the present invention it is entirely unnecessary manually toapply insertion and removal dates to the recording element and still acontinuous check with respect to time is obtainable, which continuousehecl: comprises the automatic supplying of multiple date information toa recording element.

In View of the tact that the pattern oi' sign off and sign on times isuniquely 'variable throughout a predetermined period of time it ispossible to fit the time trace on a particular recording element intoits proper place in the pattern even though the pattern is for a longperiod ci time and no knowledge is available as to about where in thepattern the time trace on a particular element fits. As a practicalmatter, however, the recording elements will be supplied at periodicintervals, probably each less than a month, to the analysis organizationand consequently the orientation thereof with respect to the uniquepattern of sign oil and sign on tiines is a relatively simple matter.

With the arrangement described thus far, the fixed tuned receiver i3 iscontinuously energized so as to produce a trace on the tape Lili as longas the broadcasting station to which the niied tuned receiver is tunedis on the air. As soon as the particular broadcasting station signs off.plate current is permitted to new through the ampliier 80 so as toenergize the relay i to close its contacts Itia whereupon theelectromagnet 53d is energized, and a displaced trace its is produced onthe tape l as is indicated in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings. Thebeginning and enc'- ing points of the trace 53a accurately represent thetimes when the broadcasting station to which the iixed tuned receiver istuned, sigue-'i and came on the air respectively when the arrangement ofFig. 1 is employed. As will be brought out later this is not entirelytrue with respect to the arrangement of Fig. 2 oi the drawings.

From the above description it will be apparent that the fixed tunedlreceiver 13 must be continuously energized to produce the describedoperation of the stylus 53. This means, `of course, that the tubecomplement of t'he receiver 13 will have a relatively short life due toits operation twentyfour hours la day. In Fig. i2 of the drawings, thereis illustrated a modification of the arrangement disclosed in Fig. 1 ofthe drawings relative to the fixed tuned receiver 13 and the stylus 53for greatly increasing the life of the tube complement by having thefixed tuned receiver energized for only a very short 'period `duringeach hour say, for example, two minutes during each hour which providesa sufiicient time 'for the tube complement of the receiver '13 to heatup. Arrangements must be provided of course 'to Amaintain the receiver13 in its energized or on `position once it is discovered that thestation to which it is tuned is off the air, whereby the stylus 53 willproduce an accurate indication on the tape 40 of the time when thestation to which the fixed tuned receiver 31 comes back on the air whichis suflicient information for producing the necessary time correlationtraces.

In Fig. 2 of the drawings the relay connected to the output of the fixedtuned receiver 13 through the amplifier 80 is designated as 8l todistinguish it from the relay 8| of Fig. l of the drawings. This relayincludes the contacts Bla which are connected in the circuit of theelectromagnet 53e in exactly the same manner Aas these contacts in Fig.1 of the drawings. However, the relay 8 l also includes a set ofcontacts SIb which are open when the contacts 8l a are open. The powersupply circuit for the fixed tuned receiver 13, which was not indicatedin Fig. 1 of the drawings, is illustrated as comprising the conductors85 connected to the source of power I6. This power supply circuitincludes in at least one line thereof a suitable rotating switchgenerally designated at 86 which is operated vby the driving mechanism54 which drives the tape 40 at constant speed. It is apparent that withthis arrangement the switch 86 may close the -circuit to the fixed tunedreceiver for a predetermined time -f such as several minutes during eachhour and when the power circuit to the xed tuned receiver is closed, theapparatus will function in the same manner as that disclosed in Fig. 1.Relay 8l is normally de-energized when a 'signal is received by thefixed tuned receiver 13, and it is also deenergized when the powersupply to the fixed tuned receiver '.13 is open since in that case noplate voltage for the amplifier 80 is provided. As illustrated in Fig. 2of the drawings, the contacts lb'are adapted to short-circuit the timecontrol switch 86. Consequently, when the time control switch 8E closesthe power supply circuit to energize the nxed tuned receiver 13 at atime when the broadcasting station to which it is tuned is oir' the airthe relay 8 l will be energized to close the contacts Sla and lb,whereupon subsequent opening of time control switch 86 will be incapableof interrupting the power supply to the fixed tuned receiver 13.Consequently the stylus 53 will be displaced to make the trace 68a untilthe broadcasting station to which the fixed tuned receiver i3 is tunedcomes back. on the air with the resultant de-energization of the relay8| whereupon control of the power supply to the fixed tuned receiver 13is again taken over by the time controlled switch 86.

For those collaborator homes which are necessarily loc-ated in areassomewhat remote from transmitting stations it may be desirable to useiii the sign oii time of a particular transmitter as the specific timeto be indicated on the record for the reason that it occurs at nightwhenthe conditions for radio wave transmission are better than in themorning. Under such circumstances the modification shown in Fig. 1) ofthe drawings, wherein 'the iixed tuned receiver tor-ned on a short timebefore the station sign oi time each evening, may be preferable. Thecorresponding parts of Fig. 10 have been characterized by the samereference numerals as in Figs. l and 2. The ,fixed tuned receiverdesignated. as 'I3' in Fig. 10 is illustrated as including a power'siJ-pply unit 94 which connected the power line lo through a suitablenormally vopen switch 9'5 which is periodically moved -to the closedposition by a rotatable cam The amplifier tube 80 of Fig. l has beenreplaced by a twin triode te connected to the fixed tuned receiver inthe same man-ner as the triode 86. One `jllate circuit of the twintriode 30 is connected to a suitable relay 58V which is in many respectssimilar to the relays 8| and iS-'I7 or" Figs. l and`2 respectively ofthe drawings. This relay SI is provided with a set of normally opencontacts glu for controlling the stylus coil 53c of the stylus 53 whichis similar to the styli 5i and 52 of Fig. 1. The inscribi-ng portion53's of the stylus 153 is normally biased by a spring means 9'.' so asto be out of engagement with the recording element or tape 40. When thecontacts Sla are closed the coil 53e is energized and the tape 40 isengaged by the stylus 53. The relay 4iii is also provided with a set 'ofnormally closed contacts Bic.

The other plate circuit of the twin triode 80 is connected to a relay 98having two 'sets of norse. switch controlling portions 95a and iilarespec-` mally open contacts 98a and '88h respectively. The contacts 98a'are seal in contacts for sealing in the relay 98 `once it is energized.'The conta-'cts iiiib are connected in series with the oontacts `ille inthe energization circuit of a suitable motive or "driving meanscomprising the motor and gear train unit generally designated at `'99.This motor and gear train unit S9 is adapted to be energized from thesource iii through suitable conductors Iii-o, in one of which theserially arranged contacts !ltc and 98h are located.

The motive means '99 are drivingly connected to the rotatable cam 9S andalso a rotatable cam mi, which latter is adapted to control a normallyclosed switch |02 connected in parallel with the serially arrangedcontacts Sic and 98h and consequently also being capable of controllingthe energiaation of the motor and gear train unit 99. Preferably themotor and gear train unit is arranged so' as to rotate the cams 855 andllil through one revolution during a period slightly shorter than 24hours. The cani Si? is provided with a Switch controlling projection 95awhich is of such a width as to maintain the switch 95 closed for vaperiod of two hours or so with continuous roation of the driving means98. rlhe cam it! on the other hand. is provided with a switchcontroiling portion lilla which is relatively narrow and capable ofmaintaining switch lil? in the open position for a relatively short timesuch as fifteen minutes or less with continuous rotation of the motor'and gear train unit Furthermore the cams Sd and 16| or the tively areso arranged with respect to each other by proper initial adjustmentthereof that the switch 95 is closed a minute or two before the switch|82 is opened. Preferably the driving means 99 drives the cams 56 and40| at a constant speed to cause the switch 95 to close approximately anhour before the sign off time of the particular transmitting station towhich the fixed tuned receiver 13 is tuned. This connects the powersource I8 with the power supply unit 94 of the fixed tuned receiver 13whereby the filaments of the electron discharge tubes are energized. Inthe event that a signal is received from the particular radiotransmitter station by the fixed tuned receiver 13 a potential appearsacross the resistor l!! which renders the 'plate circuits of the twintriode 80 sufficiently conductive to energize relays 8l" and 98respectively whereby the contacts Bla, 98a and 98h are closed and thecontacts Bic are opened. The closing of the contacts Sla causes thestylus 53 to engage the recording element 4U. The closing of thecontacts 98a seals in the relay 98 so that even if no carrier werereceived by the receiver 13' this relay would still remain energized aslong as power was supplied to the receiver 73 through the switch 95. Oneor two minutes after the switch 95 is closed the switch |92 is opened bythe cam Il so as to cut off the power supply to the driving means 99whereby the cams 96 and Illl stop rotating. Since the contacts Bic areopen at this time the parallel circuit for the driving means 99 throughcontacts 93h and Blc `is open.

As long as the transmitting station to which the fixed tuned receiver 13is on the air the elements of Fig. 10 remain as described with thestylus 53 producing a trace on the tape 40. When the station to whichthe xed tuned receiver 13' signs ofi, the absence of the receipt ofcarrier causes the relay 8l to be deenergized thereby closing contactsSIC and opening contacts 8 la. The end of the trace by the stylus 53 onthe tape 40 is therefore an accurate indication of time of sign off. Theclosing of contacts 8| c completes the circuit for driving means 99 sothat cams 96 and IUI begin to rotate with the result that within a shortperiod of time switch |02 closes and sometime thereafter switch 95 openscutting off power to the receiver whereby the relay 9B is deenergizedand restored to the condition shown in Fig. 10 of the drawings. Thedriving means 99 drives the cams 96 and IDI so as to make one revolutionin about 22 hours so that the switch 95 is closed about an hour beforethe sign off time of the transmitting station to which fixed tunedreceiver 13 is tuned.

It will be apparent that in the event of a power failure of a durationup to something less than an hour the system is unaffected because thecam 96 is arranged to turn on the xed tuned receiver 13 and establish atime trace about one hour before station sign off time. The only thingthat would happen therefore for such a short power outage is theproduction of a foreshortened time mark the foreshortening thereofindicating the duration of the power outage. In the event of a poweroutage of several hours or more duration the driving means 9S would atthe end of the power outage begin to drive the cams 96 and IUI, whichare then behind schedule by the amount of the power outage. The switches95 and |02 are operated in the normal manner and if the carrier is onindicating that the particular transmitting station is broadcasting thepower means 99 will become deenergized and remain so until sign offtime. If the carrier is off the fixed tuned receiver 13' remainsenergized due to the open condition of switch I02 until carrier appearsafter which the usual operation of the relays 8 l and 9B occurs. Undersuch conditions the fixed tuned receiver 73 may be energized up to 22 or23 hours for a particular power outage and a time mark of such lengthwill be produced. However when the next sign off time occurs the entiresetup is re-phased and such power outages are readily apparent from anexamination of the tape 40.

It will be understood that the arrangement disclosed in Fig. 1 of thedrawings provides a trace indicating both the sign ofi and sign on timesbut requires continuous energization of the fixed tuned receiver 13. Thearrangement disclosed in Fig. 2 of the drawings provides a trace whichindicates accurately only the sign on times of the station to which thereceiver "J3 is tuned. On the other hand, the arrangement disclosed inFig. l0 of the drawings shows only the sign off times of thetransmitting station to which the iixed tuned receiver 13 is tuned. Eachof these schemes however provides an accurate time indication at leastonce during every 2li-hour period.

It will be noted in examining the trace 68 with the deected portion 68uindicating silent periods of the transmitting station to which the4fixed tuned receiver 73 is tuned is different for some days of the weekthan for others. In Fig. 3 of the drawings the days of the week areindicated along the edge of the tape and also the sign-on time of theradio transmitting station to which the nxed tuned receiver 'I3 istuned. It is apparent, then that one end at least of the deflectedportion 68a therefore is an accurate time marking on the tape :i0 fromwhich the record may be correlated and by means of which any powerfailure or any other abnormal condition which causes the tape di) tomove at other than a constant speed can be determined. Furthermore, thetime indications or markings are automatically provided at least onceduring every twenty-four hour period and no manually applied indicationis required on the tape.

In Figs. 4 to 8 inclusive of the drawings the structural details of thetranslating and recording apparatus l1 are illustrated, the parts ofwhich are designated by the same reference numerals as in the precedinggures. As illustrated in Fig. 4, this translating and recordingapparatus I1 comprises a housing 88 in which is mounted the hunter unitI8 and the duplexing control unit I9 as well as the fixed tuned receiver13. Preferably these various elements of the translating and recordingapparatus Il are mounted in as compact an arrangement as possible andpositioned so that the recording mechanism 20 including the magazine G5is located near one end of the apparatus which may be closed by asuitable cover 89. rIhe magazine 45 is adapted to be inserted into asuitable recess Si! (Figs. 4 and 7) defined in the end of the housing 88which recess is of such a dimension as to just receive the magazine 5.

As was brought out above, in accordance with the present invention fieldpersonnel may be dis-` pensed with for the tape changing process, and

the collaborator can remove and replace the magazine 45 which is mailedto the analysis organization. It is desirable that the collaborator inreplacing the magazine 45 be required to do a minimum amount of work,and it is especially desirabie to avoid what is known as conditioning ofthe sample which might be the case if the col'- laborator were requiredto date or apply other time information to the tape upon inserting andremoving the same. As was mentioned above. the

annonce time .information is automatically applied .by tl'le stylus 53,and .all that the vcollaborator `is required to dois to open the doori89., pull out themagazine 45, and replace .it with a new magazine.This'replacement of vvthe `magazine 45 can be accomplished in a matterof seconds. In ,addition to this, the collaborator must mail themagazine 415 to the .analysis organization in suitable means providedfor such mailing.

In order that the ready removal and insertion of the magazine `l5 can beaccomplished, some play must be provided in the recess 9U dened for themagazine 45 and vthe magazine itself. This play, of course, will permita slight lateral movement of the magazine 45 which means that 'thetraces produced by the styli 5|., 52, and 53 could be shifted slightlyon the tape Il) depending upon the position of the magazine v115 in thelrecess 90 of the Vhousing 38. A jarring of the housing 88 might alsocause .a displi'f-1cement of the magazine 45 relative thereto. Invaccordance with the present invention, the trace :58 producedcontinuously by the stylus 53, when the receiver I3 is `receiving asignal from the transmitting station to which it is tuned or when thepower supply in the receiver 13 is eut oli as 'by the time vcontrolswitch 86, is a reference line with which the traces produced by thestyli 5l and 52 maybecorrelated during the decoding operation whichreference line will clearly indicate whether the magazine '45 isdisplaced laterally either initially or at any time during the recordingperiod.

In view of the detailed description included above, the operation of thenew and improved system and apparatus of the present invention will beapparent to those skilled in the art, and no further discussion thereoflwill be included herewith. It is apparent that a large amount of thework heretofore required lof field personnel can now be vaccomplished bythe collaborator who merely replaces the magazine 45 at specifiedintervals and mails the replaced magazine to the analysis organization.The collaborator is required to mail the magazine, promptly upon removalthereof, in a suitable mailing container, to the analysis organizationand the postmark will give the desired calendar information. If desiredthe collaborator may write the month and date 'on the container, forexample, lto Supplement the 'post mark. All the time information whichheretofore was required to be placed on the tape by the field` man atthe beginning and end of the calendar 'pe-y riod including exact timeindications can be dispensed with, and instead very reliable timeinformation is obtained. through the use of the xed tuned receiver '5.3which not only provides information as good -or better than theinformation `supplied thereon by `the iield man, butin ad-A dition givescontinual time information wlhich enables the major portion .of the tapeto 'be success fully used and decoded even though a power outage hasoccurred. The percentage of usable tapes is thus greatly increased.

It will be understood that the magazine load'- ing feature of thepresent invention is .applicable regardless .of the kind of recordingelement employed or the number or kind of means for reoording theinformation on the element, andl the radio receiver `across the Adial:so vas' to obtain' indications of the :associatedstylus :on therecording Velement of the various `tuning'positions ofthe receiver. Due.to the slow movement of the recording element this was a lSlow processparticularly where the recording unit was remote from the receiver. Withthe present invention this calibration procedure can be yaccomplished'in -a very 'short time by the use `of a special magazine indicated lbythe reference numeral 45 in Fig. .lil of the drawings. This specialmagazine Amay "be identical yin vevery respect with the magazine v45described above, :except that it is provided withY a special step-'upgear unit designated by the reference numeral H23 whereby the recordingelement therein lis caused lto travel at a much higher speed, say 10 to'20 times faster than the speed of the movement .of the record receivingelement 40 inthe conventional magazine 45. This is therefore anotheradvantage of the present `invention since fthe calibration operation canbe completed in a fraction of the time heretofore required.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the vart that 'the presentinvention is not limited to the particular constructions andarrangements shown anddescribed, but that changes and modications may bemade without departing from lthe spirit and scope of the invention, andit is aimed in the appended claims to Acover all such changes yandmodications.

What is claimed as new `and desired to be secured by Letters Patent ofthe United-:States is:

l. In a system for recording information relative to the particularradio transmitting station to which a wave signal receiver is tuned,means responsive to the tuning of said receiver when tuned to receivesignals from any one vof a plurality of transmitting stations forproducing on a movable record receiving element a record representativeof the particular tuning condition of said receiver, means of a typesubject to occasional operating interruptions for indeterminate periodsfor moving said element in a predetermined manner relative to time, andsignal receiver means responsive to the sign-off or sign-on time of apredetermined transmitting station for producing a time indication onsaid element, whereby a checl? on the opera-tion lof said means formoving said element is periodically obtained.

2. In a system for recording information relative to the particularradio transmitting stations to which each of a plurality of wave signalrecevers is tuned, means responsive to the tuning of said receivers whentuned to receive signals from any one of a plurality of transmittingstaftions for producing on a movable record receiving element individualrecords for each receiver representative of the particular tuningcondition of said receivers, means of a type subi-ect to occa-e sionalindeterminate roperating interruptions for moving said element at aconstant speed, and signal .receiver means responsive to the time apredetermined transmit-ting station begins broadcasting for producing anindication on said ele ment.

3. In a system for recording information relative to the particularradio transmitting station to which a Wave signal receiver is tuned,means responsive to the tuning of said receiver when tuned to receivesignals from any7 one of a plurality of transmitting stations forproducing on a. movable recording tape a record characteristic cf theparticular tuning condition of sai-d receiver, a constant speed electricmotor for moving said tape, and means responsive to the absenceV .of asignal from a predetermined transmitting station for producing a timeindication on said tape, whereby a power failure causing interruption ofthe operation of said motor is readily detectable from an examination ofsaid time indication.

4. In a system for recording information relative to the particularradio transmitting station to which a wave signal receiver is tuned,comprising translating and recording apparatus responr sive tomodulation components produced by said receiver when tuned to atransmitting station which components have different characteristics fordifferent transmitting stations to which said receiver is tuned, meansfor recording on a. continuously movable record receiving elementassociated with said apparatus information relating to the transmittingstations tuned in by said receiver, means for moving said element in apredetermined menner, and means responsive to the absence of the receiptof a signal from a predetermined transmitting station for producingperiodic time indications on said element as a function of the sien-onand sign-oir operation of said predetermined transmittingstation,whereby a check on the operation of said means for moving said tape isobtained.

5. VIn a system for recording information re1- ative to the particularradio transmitting stations to which a wave signal receiver is tunedwith reference to time, means responsive to the tuning of said receiverwhen tuned to receive signals from any one of a plurality oftransmitting stations ior producing on a movable recordinj tape a recordrepresentative of the particular stations to which said receiver istuned, means of a type subject to occasional operating interruptions forindeterminate periods for moving said tape in a predetermined mannerrelative to time, and means for automatically applying time markings onsaid tape to aid in decoding the record produced thereon whereby it ispossible to determine exactly not only the stations to which saidreceiver was tuned but also when and for what periods of time, saidlast-mentioned means comprising means for indicating throughout acalendar period at least one end of the time periods as a function ofthe time a predetermined station is on or off the air.

6. In a system Yfor recording information relative to the particularradio transmitting stations to which each of a plurality of wave signalreceivers is tuned, means responsive to the tuning of said receiverswhen tuned to receive signals from any one of a plurality oftransmitting stations for producing on a movable recording tapeindividual records for each receiver representative of the particulartuning condition of said receivers, means of a type subject tooccasional indeterminate operating interruptions for moving said tape ata constant speed, and means including a iixed tuned receiver tuned to apredetermined transmitting station for producing ndications on said tapeof at least one end of the time interval during each twenty-four hourperiod that said predetermined transmitting station is not producing asignal, whereby an accurate time check as to the constancy of speed ofsaid moving tape is obtainable.

7. In a system for recording information rclative to the particularradio transmitting station to which a wave signal receiver is tuned,means responsive to the tuning of said receiver when tuned to receivesignals from any one of a plurality of transmitting stations forproducing on a movable record receiving element a record characteristicof the particular tuning condition of said receiver, driving means formoving c id ele ment in a predetermined manner and means forperiodically placing accurately determinable time markings on saidelement for furnishing a time base for the record on said element wellas a check on the operation of said driving means. said last mentionedmeans comprising means responsive to the absence of the receipt of asignal produced by a predetermined transmitting station which beginsproducing a signal at a pre-- cisely known time every day.

8. In a system for recording information rele ative to the particularradio transmitting station to which a wave signal receiver' tuned,comprising translating and recording apparatus responsive to a signalrepresentative of the irequency of the signal produced by the local@soil-- lator of said receiver when said receiver is tuned to atransmitting station which signal produced by said local oscillator hasa different charactcristic for each different transmitting station towhich said receiver is tuned, means ior recording on a continuouslymovable element associated with said apparatus information relating to'the transmitting stations tuned in by said receiver, means for movingsaid element in a predeten mined manner, and means for automatically andperiodically placing time markings on said element indicative oit one orboth of the sign-off or sign-on times of a predetermined transmittingstation located within the area in which said apparatus is disposed,whereby a check on the operation of said means for moving said elementis obtained.

9. Apparatus for recording information relative to the particular radiobroadcasting stations to which one or more wave signal receivers aretuned, comprising a recording mechanism including a malla-ble magazinehaving disposed ther in a driven member and a movable record receivingelement associated therewith, means outside said magazine and engageablewith said driven inember when said magazine is associated with saidrecording mechanism for moving said element at a constant speed, astylus adapted to extend into said magazine to produce an indication onsaid element representative of the tuning condition of at least one ofsaid receivers, and means comprising a wave signal receiver forautomatically applying time markings on said element in said magazine.

10. Apparatus for recording information relative to the particular radiobroadcasting stations to which one or more wave signal receivers aretuned, comprising a recording mechanism including a recorder portion anda mailable magazine, said magazine having disposed therein a drivenmember and a movable record receiving element associated therewith,means engageable with said driven member when said magazine isassociated with said recorder portion for moving said element in apredetermined manner, means for producing a record on said elementcontinu ously representative of the tuning condition of at least one ofsaid receivers, and means for automatically applying an indication onsaid element in said magazine to provide a reference whereby theposition of said magazine relative to said recorder portion isindicated.

11. Apparatus for recording information relative to the particular radiobroadcasting stations to which one or more wave signal receivers aretuned, comprising a recording mechanism including a housing having a,recess defined thereasada@ in, a, readily removable and insertablemailable magazine adapted to be disposedl in said recess and havingmounted therein a driven member and; a movable record tape, meansoutside said magazine and engageable with said driven member when saidmagazine is associated with said recording mechanism or moving saidelement at a constant speed, a first means for producing indications onsaid tape representative of the tuningV conditionI of at least one, ofsaid receivers with respect to time, and a second means for producing. atime trace n said. tape. at least a portion of said time trace providinga, reference indicating the particular position of said maga- Zine in`said housing wheny said indications. are. produced on said tape.

1,2, Apparatus fior recording information relative to the particularradio broadcasting station to which one. or more wave signal receiversare tuned, comprising a recording mechanism including a mailablemagazine having disposed therein a driven member and a movable recordtape associated therewith, means outside said magazine and engageablewith said driven member when said magazine is associated with saidrecording mechanism for moving said tape in a predetermined manner, arst stylus adapted to produce indications on said tape representative ofthe tuningy condition of at least one of said receiyers, a secondstylus, means for positioning said second stylus in response to theoperating condition of a predetermined broadcasting station so that atiming trace is produced on said tape which varies in dependence uponwhether or not said predetermined broadcasting station is transmitting asignal, whereby precisely known time indications are automaticallyapplied to said tape.

13. Apparatus for recording information relative to the particular radiobroadcasting stations to which one or more wave signal receivers aretuned, comprising a recordingr mechanism inclnding a housing having arecess defined therein, a readily removable, and insertable mailablemagazine adapted to be disposed in said recess, a driven memberincluding a sprocket rotatably mounted in. said magazine.. a record tapehaving edge perforations engageable by saidsprocket, means outside saidmagazine and engageable with said driven member when said magazine is`associated with said recording mechanism for moving said sprocket andconsequently said tape at a constant speed, a rst stylus adapted toextend into said magazine to produce. a trace on said tape between saidperforations, the transverse position of said trace between saidperforations being representative of the tuning condition of at leastone of saidreceivers and a second stylus adapted to extend into saidmagazine for producing a time trace on said tape between onek edge oflsaid tape and the adjacent row of perforations, at least a portion ofsaid time trace providing a reference line indicating the partie-Y. ularposition of said magazine in said housing when'said indicationsareproduced on said tape.

14. Apparatus for recording information relative to the particular radiobroadcasting stations to which one or more Wave signal receivers aretuned, comprising a recording mechanism in-r cluding a housing havingv arecess defined therein, a readily removable and insertable mailablemagazine adapted to be disposed in said recess, a driven memberincluding a sprocket rotatably mounted in said magazine, a record tapehaving edge perforatons engageable by said sprocket,

means.. outside said magazine and sneaseable with said dri member whensaid magazine iS associated with said recording mechanism for movingsaid; sprocket., consequently said tape at a consent sneed a inst.stylus adapted to 2X* tend into. said magazine to produce e traes Qnsaid tape,v between: .Said periorations, the transverse position cisaid. tra-se between said perforations being representative of thetuning conditigQIl. Gf, at, least one of said receivers, and a second;.Stylus adapted to. extendinto said magazine for producing a time traceon said tape between one. edge. ci said tape and the adjacent row ofperforations.

l5.. Apparatus for recording information relative tothe particular radiobroadcasting stations to which one or more wave signal receivers are tuncomprising a recording mechanism inclnding a housing having a recessdefined therein, a readily removable and insertable mailable magazineadapted to be disposed in said recess and having mounted therein adriven member and a movable record tape, means outside said magazine andengageable with said driven member when said magazine is associated withsaid recording mechanism for moving said tape at a constant speed, afirst stylus adapted to extend, into said magazine to produceindications on said tape. representative of the tuning condition of atleast one of said receivers with respect to time, and a second stylusadapted to extend into said magazine for producing a trace on said tape,a fixed; tuned receiver constantly tuned to a predetermined transmittingstation, and means for controlling the position of said second stylus independence upon Whether a signal from said predetermined transmittingstation is received by said fixed tuned receiver.

16. Apparatus for recording information relative to the particular radiobroadcasting stations to which one or more wave signal receivers aretuned, comprising a recording mechanism includirlg a housing having arecess dened therein, a readily removable and insertable mailablemagazine adapted to be disposed in said recess and having mountedtherein a driven member and a 'movable record tape, means outside saidmagazine and engageable with said driven member when said magazine isassociated with said recording mechanism for moving said tape at aconstant speed,l a rst stylus adapted to extend into said magazine toproduce indications on said tape representative of the tuning conditionof at leastv one of said receivers with respect to time, and a secondstylus adapted to extend into said magazine for producing a continuoustrace on said tape! a. xed tuned receiver constantly tuned to apredetermined transmitting station, and means for controlling theposition of said second stylus in dependence upon whether a signal fromsaid predetermined transmitting station is received by said. xed tunedreceiver.v

1 7. In a system for recording information relativey to the particularradio transmitting station to which a wave signal receiver is tuned,means responsive tothe tuning of Said receiver when tuned to receivesignals from any transmitting station for producing on a movable recordreceivingy element a record characteristic of the particular tuning ofsaid receiver, driving means for moving said element in a predeterminedman-` ner, means for periodically placing` accurately determinahle timemarkings on said element for furnishingy a time base for the record onsaid element as Well as a check on the operation of said driving means,comprising a nxed tuned receiver tuned to a predetermined transmittingstation, means responsive to the absence of the ieceipt of a signal fromsaid predetermined transmitting station by said xed tuned receiver forproducing a predetermined tiace on said element, and means responsive tothe receipt of a signal from said predetermined transmitting station bysaid fixed tuned receiver for producing a different predetermined traceon said element, at least one oi` the junction points between saidtraces providing a known precise time indication.

18. Apparatus for recording information relative to the particular radiobroadcasting stations to which one or more wave signal receivers aretuned, comprising a recording mechanism 1ncluding a housing having arecess defined therein, a readily removable and insertable mailaplemagazine adapted to be disposed in said recess, a driven memberincluding a sprocket rotatably mounted in said magazine, a record tapehaving two rows of periorations parallel to the edges thereof engageableby said sprocket, diiving means outside said magazine and engageablcwith said driven member when said magazine is associated with saidrecording mechanism for moving said sprocket and consequently said tapeat a constant speed, a first stylus adapted to extend into said magazineto produce a trace on said tape between said perforations representativeof the tuning condition of at least one of said receivers, a secondstylus adapted to extend into said magazine for producing a time traceon said tape between one edge of said tape and the adjacent row ofperfor-ations, a fixed tuned receiver tuned to a predeterminedtransmitting station which comes on the air at a precisely known timeevery day, means for controlling said second stylus in response to thepresence or absence of a signal from said predetermined transmittingstation, means controlled by said driving' means for periodicallysupplying powei' to said xed tuned receiver for short intervals of time,and means responsive to the absence 0f a signal from said transmittingstation for continuously maintaining the power supply to said fixedtuned receiver once the power supply is restored by said meanscontrolled by said driving means, whereby said fixed tuned receiver iseffective to control said second stylus at the instant saidpredetermined transmitting station comes on the air so that accuratetime information is automatically applied to said tape.

19. Apparatus for recording information relative to the particular radiobroadcasting stations to which one or more wave signal receivers aretuned, comprising a recording mechanism including a mailable magazinehaving disposed therein a driven member and a movable recording tapeassociated therewith, driving means outside said magazine and engageablewith said driven member when said magazine is associated with saidrecording mechanism for moving said tape at a constant speed, a rstmeans for producing an indication on said tape representative of thetuning condition of at least one of said receivers, a second means forautomatically applying a time trace on said tape, a xed tuned receivertuned to a predetermined transmitting station which comes on the air ata precisely known time every day, means for controlling said secondmeans in response to the presence or absence of a signal from saidpredetermined transmitting station, means controlled by said drivingmeans for periodically supplying power to said Cit Fixed tuned receiveronly for short intervals oi' time, and means responsive to the absenceof a signal from said transmitting station for con tinuously maintainingthe power supply to said fixed tuned receiver once the power supply isrestored by said means controlled by said driving means, whereby saidfixed tuned receiver is effective to control said second means at theinstant said predetermined transmitting station comes on the air so thataccurate time information is automatically applied to said tape.

20. In a system for recording information relative to the particularradio transmitting station to which a wave signal receiver is tuned,means responsive to the tuning condition of said receiver when tuned toreceive signals from any transmitting station for producing on a movablerecording element a record characteristic of the particular tuningconditions of said receiver, driving means for moving said element in apredetermined manner, means for periodically placing accuratelydeterminable time markings on said element for furnishing a time basefor the record on said element as well as a check on the operation ofsaid driving means, comprising a fixed tuned receiver tuned to apredetermined transmitting station, means responsive to the absence ofthe receipt of a signal from said predetermined transmitting station bysaid xed tuned receiver for producing a predetermined trace on saidelement, means responsive to the receipt of a signal from saidpredetermined transmitting station by said iixed tuned receiver forproducing a different predetermined trace on said element, at least oneof the junction points between said traces providing a known precisetime indication, means for energizing said iixed tuned receiver atperiodic intervals during each day but only for relatively short periodseach time, and means for maintaining said iixed tuned receivercontinuously energized once no signal is received from saidpredetermined transmitting station upon one of the periodicenergizations of said xed tuned receiver until said predeterminedtransmitting station again begins tc transmit a signal.

21. In combination with a record receiving device including a recordingelement and means for moving said element in a predetermined manner,means periodically operative in a predetermined manner at preciselyknown times, means including an electronic device responsive to saidlast mentioned means for placing time indications on said element atsaid precisely known times, and means for automatically rendering saidelectronic device ineffective for a substantial portion of the timeexcept for periods preceding said precisely known times.

22. In combination with a record receiving device including a recordingelement and means for moving said element at a constant speed, meansperiodically operative in a predetermined manner at precisely knowntimes, means including an electronic device responsive to said lastmentioned means for placing time indications on said element at saidprecisely known times, means for rendering said electronic deviceinei'ective for all but periodic short intervals or time, and means forautomatically maintaining said electronic device effective for periodsprior to and including said precisely known times.

23. In a system for recording information relative to the particularradio transmitting station to which a wave signal receivei' is tuned,means for recording on a continuously movable element associated withsaid'` apparatus information relating to transmitting stations tuned inby said receiver, means for moving said element. in a predeterminedmarmer with respect to time, and means responsive to one` or both ofthe. sign-ofi or sign-on times of a predetermined transmitting stationfor automatically and; periodically placing time markings on saidelement whereby a. Cheek on the constant speed operation of said means for'moving said element. isv obtained.

. 24;.4 In a` system for recording inormation relative. to, theparticular radio transmitting station te which a Wave signal receiver istunedJ mea-ns for recording on a Continuously movable elementassoeiated` with said a.oloaratusy information relating to transmittingstations tuned in by Said receiver, means for moving Said element at aconstant. speedy, and means responsive to. one 01.' both of thesign-oit,` or sign-on, times o f a predetermined transmitting stationfor automaticailyand periodically placing time markings on said elementwhereby a check on the constant sneed Operation of said means, formoving said element is, obtained and the variations in signoff orsign-on times or both of said predetermined transmitting Station. fromday to day during a particular weel; permit accurate identication of lns of said eier ent as having information rec i ded thereon as of aparticular date.

25., In a system for recording information relative to the particularradio transmitting station to which a wave signal receiver is tuned,means for recordingv on ay continuously movable element associated withsaid apparatus information re,- lati-ng to transmitting stations tunedin by said receiver, means formoving said element at a constant speed,and means responsive to. one or both of the sign-off or sign-Qn times ofa pre-` determined transmitting station which may vary from. day to dayfor ,automatically and nerin Qdieaily placing time markings on saidelement whereby av check on the constant speed operation of said meansfor moving said element is obtainedfrom day to day.

26. Apparatus for recording information relative to the particular radiobroadcasting stations to which one or more Wave signal receivers aretuned, comprising a recording mechanism including a mailahle magazinehaving disposed therein a driven member and a movable record receivingelem-ent associated therewith, means outsidev said magazine andengageable with said driven member when said magazine is associated withsaid recording mechanism for moving said element at a constant speed,means for producing an indication on said element representative of thetuningcondition of at least one of` said receivers, and means includinga wave signal receiver. for automatically applying time marl;- irigs onsai-d element in said magazine.

27. .In a system for recording information relative to the particularradio transmitting station to which a wave signal receiver is tuned,ymeans responsive to the tuning of said receiver when tuned to receivesignals from any transmitting station for producing on a movable recordreceiving element .a record characteristic of the par.- ticular tuningof said receiver, driving means for moving said element at a constantspeed, means for periodically placing accurately determinable timemarkings on said element for furnishing a time base for the record onsaid element as well as a check on the operation of said driving means,comprising a xed tuned receiver tuned to a predetermined transmittingstation, means responsive to the absence of, the receipt. of a signalfrom said predetermined transmitting station by said xed tuned receiverfor causing said means for placing time marke ings. on. said element toaffect said element in a predetermined manner, and means responsive tothe receipt of a signal from said predetermined transmitting stationbysaid fixedtuned receiver for causing said means for placing timemarkings on said element to affect said element in a differentpredetermined manner, whereby at least one of the points on said elementwhere a change iny the manner in which it is affected by said means forplacing time markings on said element occurs provides a precisely knowntime indication.

28. For use with apparatus for recording in-l formation relative to theparticular radio broadcasting stations to which one or more wave sig,-nal receivers are tuned of the type comprising a recording mechanismincluding a malable magazine having disposed therein a driven meni-l berand a movable record receiving element associated therewith togetherwith means for moving said element at a relatively low constant speed aswell as including means for producing an indication on said element insaid magazine representative of; the tuning condition of at least one ofsaid receivers, a testing magazine adapted to be substituted for saidmailable magazinel for testing or calibration purposes including meansfor causing a movable record receiving element associated therewith tobe driven at a very high speed of the order of ten or more times saidrelatively low constant speed.

29. Apparatus for recording information relative to the particular radiobroadcasting stations to which one or more wave signal receivers aretuned, comprising a recording mechanism including a mailable magazinehaving disposed there-in a driven member and a movable record receivingelement associated therewith, means engageable with said driven memberwhen said magazine isl associated with said recording mechanism formoving said element in a predeter-4 mined manner, means for producing anindicar-r tion on said element representative of the tuning condition ofat least one oi said receivers, and means comprising a wave signalreceiver for alJ-.tQmatcally applying a time record on said element insaid; magazine.

30. Apparatus for recording information relative to. the particularradio broadcasting stations to` which one or more wave signal receiversare tuned, comprising a recording mechanism in-y Qludilis a. mailablemagazine having disposed therein a driven member and aV movablerecording tape associated therewith, driving means out-y side saidmagazine and engageable with said drivenmember when said magazine isassociated with said recording mechanism for moving said tape`r in apredetermined manner, a rst means adapted for producing a continuousindication on said tape representative of the tuning condi-f. tionl ofat least one o said receivers, a second means. for automaticallyapplying a time trace on vsaid tape, a fixed tuned receiver tuned to apredetermined transmitting station which goes oil the air at a preciselyknown time every day, means for controlling said second means. in re-vsponse to the presence or absence of a signal from said predeterminedtransmitting station, cam means, motive means for driving said cam meansto supply power to said xed tuned receiver a short time preceding thesign-off time

